Centering device for car-couplings.



r R. E. POWERS.

CENTERING DEVICE FOR CAR COUPLINGS.

APPLICATION men 050.1 1913.

1 ,1 816,939. Patented June 13, 1916.

II 7 Y! H re- W I'INE 5 s E 5 50 4 2 1 JLNVENT an L.L 'IELDEERT E.PuwEns.'

i To all whom it may concern:

ED STATES PATENT O C ROBERT E. POWERS, OF MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA, ASSIGN OR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, 0F ONE-FOURTH T0 ALBERT C. MURPHY AND ONE-FOURTH TO JOHN H. ALLEN, BOTH OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

GElN'TEBING DEVICE FOR CAR-COUPLINGS.

' Specification of Letters Patent. Patented-June 13, 1916,

Application filed December 1, 1913. Serial No. 804,040.

Be it known that 1, ROBERT EPOWERs, of the city of Montreal, in the Province of Quebec and Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Centering Devices for Car-Couplings, of

which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to improvements in centering devices for car couplers and is designed as an improvement upon the invention described in the specification filed by me on October 9th, 1908, under Serial Number 457,004. A

In the present invention, instead of using rollers provided with axles mounted in bearings upon which the coupler carriage travels, I provide plainrollers running loosely ona curved track and carrying the coupler carriage which is provided underneath with a curved track adapted to cooperate with the roller and keep the carriage automatically centered without undue friction and with great facility of operation.

In the drawings which illustrate my invention :Figure 1 is a view of the coupler at the end of the car, the left half showing an elevation of the coupler and the right half a sectional view on the line 89 of Fig. 3. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the stirrup. Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the device on the line 10-11 of Fig. 1. Fig.

4 is a plan view of the carriage. A

Referring to the drawings, 12 designates the plates and vangle members which form the center sill of the car, and 13 the throat plate through which the coupler 14 projects. 15 designates the stirrup membershaped substantially as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and secured to the center sill by, means of the bolts 16. The stirrup member 15 comprises vertical front and rear platesl'? and:18, i'e-,

spectively, which are united by longitudinal side plates 19 formed integral therewith, the,

side members 19 being provided with flanges 19* through which the bolts 16 extend to hold the stirrup member in position. The front and rear plates 17 and 18, are provided at the top with flanges 20 extending outwardly therefrom, and with brace webs 21, as shown in Fig. 4. Between the front and rear plates -17 and 18 is a floor plate 22, which "is in the form of a double curved track adapted to car y th IQHQ 'S pon which the coupler car:

riage travels. The floor plate 22 is provided with stiffening webs 23 and with vents or apertures 24 to permit the escape \of cinders .or other foreign substances which might fall approximately elliptical space within which the roller 28 travels loosely, always falling by gravity to the lowest oint of the track 22 and carrying the coupling member with 7 it. The carria e table 25' is provided with depending guide flanges 27 between which the roller 28 travels, and with'upwardly extending plates or flanges 29, between which the coupler member 14 is mounted to holdsame against lateralmovement. The flanges 29 are provided with stiffening ribs 30. It

will be seen that the greatest diameter of the "roller is at the center 31, the sides 32 sloping off as shown. To correspondwith the contour of this roller, the tracks 22 and 26 are sloped or beveled in a similar manner. By this means, any lateral motion of the roller will be prevented as said roller will be maintained centrally upon the track 22.

When assembled, the parts are inthe relation shown in Fig. 1, the carriage 25 resting upon the rollers 28 and supporting the coupling member 14 normally in line with the central longitudinal axis of the car. If by the swaying of the cars, or for'any other reason, the'coupler is thrown out of the cen-' ter line, the carriage moves with'it upon the rollers 28 but is compelled to 'rise upon the curved tracks 22. The coupler 'willreturn automatically, owin' 'to'the'force ofgravity, to the lowestpomt of the curved track 22. and will remain normally in line with the center. of the car. As the rollers 28 roll freely between the curved tracks 22 and 26, the carriage will operate with great facility and with aminimum of friction.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:- 1. In a device of the character described, the combination with a coupler, of-a carriage mounted below s i o pl a tra k on the under side of said carriage, a stirrup member, a track on said stirrup member, each of said tracks having inclined side portions, and a loose roller mounted between the stirrup member and the carriage, said roller having sloping side portions-corresponding with the inclined side portion on said tracks.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination with a coupler, of a carriage having a track, a stirrup member having front and rear plates, a track mounted between said plates, both of said tracks being curved longitudinally and of angular cross ROBERT E. POWERS.

Witnesses:

S. R. W. ALIEN, G. M. MORELAND. 

